Just a small post to say that the guys from Project Nex opened their new forums.
The forums feel fresh, clean and modern, that’s changing me a lot from what I’m used to.
You can access them at this address : http://forum.nexfps.com/index.php

If you don’t know what Nex is, you can check my previous post on it here.

Long time without update but i’ve been a bit busy IRL so i couldn’t work that much on the maps.

Still, i progressed a bit.

DM-Maliwan got some layout changes to fix previous issues. The Bio/Helmet corridor has changed to a full room with 2 floors and a platform. It plays a lot better in this area and its connections than before and is more attractive than just helmet->Lift-jump to Sniper. I’m still moving things around a bit to space the snipe/armor in the duel version. I’ll figure that out.
The minigun area changed a bit also, and i added a room/connection from beta2’s minigun to the 3 vials next to the link. I put the minigun there.
The rest didn’t changed that much apart a couple of flow balance/issues that should be corrected. The map doesn’t feel that cramped/small anymore and that’s a great point :).
I’ve done some brush work too, that add some visual depth to the current really flat look of the map.
I’m starting to revamp all the textures/materials and will work on doing proper lights when the 2D designing and brush work is finished (or at least close to). The ambiance should feel the same, it’ll just have more subtlety and depth.
I’m currently considering ditching the announcement on walls concept as it’s quite performance heavy at the moment and i can’t seem to get working as i’d want.
I don’t know when it will be ready to release as a pre-final as I’m a bit behind my schedule.

DM-ViridianTourney is still in the work on the side. I’ve finished most of the textures, and applied them on their respective location.
I kept the original layout. I just changed how the minigun “area” is for flow concerns. The corridor there is double the width of the original with 2 pillars at the middle and the 2xHP on the far side. There’s a small room between this corridor and the stairs in the corner of the Shock area. I’ve put the minigun in there.
I still need to do some brush work so the map is not as flat as the UT99 one. The brush work will only serve to reproduce what the textures represented in the original map. After that I’ll work on the lights to try to emulate the ambiance of the original.
The map plays well and feels true to the original so far. There will be nothing fancy as it’s more of a remake to get some old-school feels playing it than a revamp of the map.

A really short project I’m doing at the moment when i don’t have the time to work on the rest is a “new” weapon. It’s an Instagib rifle that deals 55 damage with primary (like the UT99 shock). I’m trying to get the secondary to do an instant hammer-jump without enemy damage and a long cooldown. I still have to implement the secondary correctly as at the moment it’s working like a standard hammer primary. It’s aimed at a variation for Sniper CTF/iCTF with a more balanced use of Armor and health items and the use of the hammer secondary as a mean to catch-up or do awesome plays. Probably not that competitive, but it’s really fun to play anyway. Currently goes by the name of ShockTag.

Feeling like UT3 is on par with UT99 and UT2kx when it comes to lot of things (or better even in certain things), but seeing it being trashed by people that (i’m comfident of that) never played it past the release year, i’m doing this Guide to help you set up UT3, and play it to its full potential, where it will kicks UT99’s and UT2kx’s old butts.
I know UT3 was really bad at release, with no content, shit UI and crap graphics. That’s no more true. Give it a chance and you’ll love it. If you’re reading this, you’re probably already in the right state of mind, and that’s good 🙂

When you’ll have followed this simple guide to the end, you’ll have a great UT game, with lots of varied and fun maps to play on, a selection of must have mods and mutator and direction on where to play, find people and other mods/maps. The only crap thing that’ll still be there is that bloody server browser.

Due to the anouncement of the developpement of the new Unreal Tournament by Epic Games, the lead of the Open Tournament project decided on general consensus to cancel the project and help for the new UT.

From the Unreal Engine 4 forums :

This project gets discontinued, Epic new Unreal Tournament is all we wanted from Open Tournament, so OT doesnt have a reason to exist now. The OT team and chat will still be there, for discussions and help regarding UE4. -vBlanco, lead designer of the OT project.

Sad news and bad luck for the timing, but with an official title, the project doesn’t answer to a need anymore. The team can now participate to the official project and help it become a better game, and that’s a good thing. Some of the mappers have already posted their work on the offical forums.

I’m comfident the start of a project like this may have been one of the reasons we have a new UT title in the work.